A new comedy series from Henry Winkler – best known as ‘The Fonz’ in 1970s American sitcom Happy Days – will premiere on BBC iPlayer a week before it airs on CBBC.

Happy Days: Henry 'The Fonz' Winkler

The show, Hank Zipzer, is based on Winkler’s own experience of growing up as a young boy with dyslexia and features the central character 12-year-old Hank Zipzer.

The first show will be available on iPlayer on 21 January.

Victoria Jaye, head of TV content for BBC iPlayer, said: “This builds on the success of premiering our first children’s series, 4 O’Clock Club, on iPlayer back in December – the first episode we premiered received close to half a million requests in seven days.

“We want to draw on BBC iPlayer’s popularity to help grow new hits for the BBC, so we’re excited to see how far premiering Hank Zipzer can drive more viewers to this exciting new show.”